it's no secret that Shaquille O'Neal is pro-cops. He completed the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy, was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title, was sworn in as an honorary sheriff's deputy, and announced plans to run for sheriff in Georgia in 2020.
So while 45 is proposing we arm teachers with guns, Shaq is advocating for schools to hire more cops instead.
"The government should give law enforcement more money," said Shaq on WABC Radio's Curtis and Cosby show, according to ESPN. "Give more money, you recruit more people, and the guys that are not ready to go on the streets, you put them in front of the schools. You put 'em in front of the schools, you put 'em behind the schools, you put 'em inside the schools, and we need to pass information...I would like to see police officers in schools, inner cities, private schools."
Shaq, who played for the Miami Heat from 2004 to 2008, still lives in Ft. Lauderdale—the same county where 17 people were killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
"You know it was a very, very sad incident," said Shaq. "Close to my heart. I actually live in Fort Lauderdale. I actually knew the sheriff, called him, and told him he did a wonderful job."
But while the high schoolers are advocating for a ban on automatic weapons, Shaq argues restricting guns isn't the solution.
"There's a lot of those weapons already on the streets," he said. "So it's not like, if you say, 'OK, these weapons are banned,' people are gonna go, 'Oh man, let me turn it in.' That's definitely not going to happen."
He later continued: "Cause once you ban 'em, now they're going to become a collector's item and you're going to have people underground, and they were $2,000...I'll give you $9,000 for that gun. So, you know, we just need to keep our eyes open."
But despite their differences, Shaq would still protest alongside the teenagers who sparked a nationwide rally, March For Our Lives.
"I wish I could join 'em, but you know, hopefully it sends a message to the powers that be," he said. "Cause we have to stop this...I would like to see tougher background checks. If you can't protect our children in school, where are they safe?" That's one thing we can hopefully all agree on.
